Celebrate
being Australian, learn about Australian History and discover the essence
of creativity all at the same time. The
Dig Tree, is etched into the Australian
pysche as one of the greatest ironic tragedies. Dig
and unearth some of the secrets of creativity. The
Dig Tree was designed by Greg Blakey,
a talented design student, with flair, imagination and the ability to
meet the needs of his clients. Greg has created, amongst other things,
Soul Food's zany Magic Writing Tram.

Best Place to
StartPossibly the best place to begin digging, to discover
the treasure that lies within Soul Food, is here within the box
of wondermenta magical box that is being filled with all the
main writing prompts on this site. Alternatively check out the Writing
Directory.

Make Writing Your Daily Practice

To practice is to establish a habitual action. It refers to 'repeated
exercise in an art' with the view to 'improve skill'. In 'Zen and the
Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' Robert Pirsig says 'On this machine I have
done the tuning so many times it has become a ritual. I don't have to
think much about how to do it anymore." Pirsig's words appeal to me. I
am able to conjure an image of someone who is one with a machine. His
ear tunes in to the unusual noise - he senses when all is not well. He
is the sort of mechanic I search for to work on my car. I know I can trust
him implicitly because he has turned maintenance into an art form.

I write with such regularity that writing has become a ritual for me.
I do not think about it any more. I churn out at least a thousand words
a day and these words help me to maintain balance in my life. My notebooks
are my constant companion, visible every day, a talisman of my quest.
They go everywhere with me. I have a small notebook in my handbag which
I use if I am waiting for an appointment or if I get the urge to let my
pen glide over the paper in the coffee shop. When I am at home my notebook
is constantly by my side.

My students used to be curious and a little paranoid about my writing.
Now they accept that I am 'zenning it' with them for twenty minutes and
are amazed, when I read a little of my writing to them, that my thoughts
are not so different to theirs.

Modern society has become very impersonalised and there is little ritual
or practice that we can turn to. We rise at the same time each day, catch
the same bus or drive the same route to work. We complain about how little
good viewing there is on television and the lower standards of the daily's.
We have fleeting conversations about the weather, grumble about what the
children are doing and about how our lives are turning out. It is not
surprising that in this environment there is a renaissance in personal
writing. We are searching for a way to palliate the pain of our vulnerability
and disappointment. Personal writing helps us to figure things out and
find a new direction.

As Brenda Ueland says, "when we commit ourselves to writing for some
part of each day we are happier, more enlightened, alive, light hearted
and generous to everyone else. Even our health improves." To experience
the joy of this practice there are some hints that will guide you on your
pathway. If you want to get the "full benefit of the richness of the
unconscious you must learn to write smoothly when the unconscious is in
the ascendant" advises Dorothea Brande. She adds that "The
best way to do this is to rise half an hour, or full hour, earlier than
you customarily rise. Just as soon as you can - without talking, without
reading the morning's paper, without picking up the book you laid aside
the night before - begin to write. Write anything that comes into your
head: last night's dream, if you are able to remember it; activities of
the day before; a conversation, real or imaginary; an examination of conscience.
Write any sort of early morning reverie, rapidly and uncritically. The
excellence or ultimate worth of what you write is of no importance yet...The
next morning begin without re-reading what you have already done. Remember:
you are to write before you have read at all."

Once you have mastered this practice you will find that you can write
easily and comfortably and without great effort. You will be surprised
by your thinking patterns and by the way in which this time becomes a
rehearsal for events later in the day. Within a very short amount of time
you will be addicted. More importantly, it will become such a habit that
you will find that you can pick up a pen at any time and write from your
unconscious.